EDUCATION Secretary Ruth Kelly today told elite universities such as Oxford and Cambridge they must offer the biggest bursaries to attract students from poor families.

The minister declared that there had "never been a better time to be a poor, bright student" as the new tuition fees regime comes into force next year.

In her first evidence session to the Commons education select committee, Ms Kelly was grilled on wide range of subjects, from her Catholic beliefs to whether schools should "set" pupils on ability.

From 2006, any university that wants to charge top-up tuition fees of up to é3,000 a year will have to offer bursaries to students from poorer backgrounds.

But many Labour MPs and student leaders fear the new fees regime will put-off teenagers from working-class families.

Ms Kelly said: "One of the things that's pretty clear to me is that our leading research universities ought to be planning much larger bursaries to attract students."

She added: "It's my firm view that there's never been a better time to be a poor, bright student in this country."

The message is getting across that students will no pay tuition fees only after graduation from 2006 and they will be eligible for new grants and bursaries to help, she said.

Ms Kelly indicated she was shared her predecessor Charles Clarke's commitment to make sure sixth formers apply to university after they have received their A-Level results.

Personal values

Currently, students apply before taking their exams and offers of university places are "conditional" on them getting the right grades.

Tory MP for the Isle of Wight Andrew Turner asked Ms Kelly "how important is your faith" in the decisions she takes.

She replied: "We all approach issues with our own personal values and I think my values are pretty similar to every Labour politician's."

The minister has been at the centre of controversy over her devout Catholic beliefs.

She admitted recently that she receives "spiritual support" from ultra-conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, which was famously portrayed as a shadowy sect in the best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code.

On the subject of setting pupils by ability, Ms Kelly said she would be detailing her views in depth soon.

She said she thought more number students were now in sets than before Labour came to power but she did not have the figures "to hand".

"I will be spelling out in some depth shortly how I think schools should provide appropriate support to students and how they might make use of ability groups," she said.

The minister acknowledged the Government was facing a challenge to convert teachers to planned reforms to their pensions.

Several teachers' unions are consulting members on whether they would be prepared to strike over the changes, which will mean normal pension age rising from 60 to 65.

Ms Kelly said: "We have got a job to do to explain what some of the benefits are of the changes in the teacher pension scheme."